Another Chance
by Saga Svanhildr
Summary: Sora Amell is sent to war in what she deems a punishment.  Little does she know, it will be the best thing that ever happens to her.  Companion piece to Another Life, though you don't need to read it to understand. Characters will crossover.
1. Chapter 1  Like Lambs to the Slaughter

_This is a companion piece to my other work in progress, Another Life. The stories will eventually meet, maybe even merge. I have to thank the amazing RewindedMiracle for being my inspiration; not just for this story, but for writing again. Sora is for you! :)_

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><p>"Sodding Irving, I can't believe you're making me do this," I grumbled as I walked down the stairs into the basement of the Circle Tower. Jowan was my best friend; and I would rather see him made Tranquil than killed by Templars. If I put a stop to his plan before it started he would at least have a chance to explain himself. I just didn't expect the First Enchanter to force me to play along with the charade so he could punish a Chantry initiate as well. Jowan would never forgive me, but then again, he might not have to. Maker, that's an awful thing to think.<p>

I reached the bottom of the staircase to see Jowan and his initiate, Lily, waiting patiently for me… with Evian Surana. I stopped dead in my tracks. This wasn't a part of the plan. What in the Fade was she doing here?

"Jowan, can I see you in the stairwell for a moment," I asked politely so I wouldn't alarm the young elf, not that she would actually notice. As soon as he was close enough, I grabbed his arm and dragged him up the first flight.

"Ow, Sora! What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Jowan, what were you thinking? Why did you bring Evian into this?"

"I thought it was a good idea! She told me if I ever needed any help, all I had to do was ask. Well… I thought we could use the help! You may be the best with offensive spells, but you are no healer, Sora; even Wynne dumped you as an apprentice, and Wynne gives up on no one. Evian may not be the brightest torch in the Tower, but even you will admit that she is the best healer. What if one of us gets injured?"

"Bright? It's a bloody miracle that she passed her Harrowing! Did you even tell her what it is that we are doing down here?"

"No… she never asked!"

"Of course she wouldn't! We are talking about the girl that believed Anders's rumor about secret passages in the tower. I don't know how many times I caught her pressing on bricks in the library, trying to get the doors to open!"

"Well she's here, Sora. I'm not going to send her away now. What else can I say?"

"Fine! Let's just get on with it," there was obviously no swaying him. I followed him back down the staircase. There she stood, no idea about what we were about to do. Shit! Evian, why did you have to get involved in this? The elf was the kindest person that I had ever met, but it wasn't lost on anyone that her name spelled backward was exactly the right characteristic to describe her. Now, she would be punished by Irving as well, and I was responsible. Shit!

"Were you speaking about me?" Evian stared up at me with a curious look.

"Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?" I was very purposefully being sarcastic, but I wasn't surprised that she didn't get the hint.

"Oh. I thought I heard you say my name," she actually looked sad to think that we _weren't_ talking about her. Oh Evian… please forgive me.

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><p>"We did it!" Jowan shouted as we reemerged from the basement. "I can't believe it! Thank you… we could never have-"<p>

"So what you said was true, Irving." We all looked to see Knight-Commander Greagoir approaching with the First Enchanter and a group of Templars. This had to look wonderful.

"G- Greagoir…" Lily breathed. I'm sorry, Lily, but there was no other way that this was going to end.

"An initiate, conspiring with a blood mage. I'm disappointed, Lily," he stepped close to examine her. "She seems shocked, but fully in control of her own mind. Not a thrall of the blood mage, then," he began to pace. "You were right, Irving. The initiate has betrayed us. The Chantry will not let this go unpunished. And this one, newly a mage, and already flouting the rules of the Circle."

"It's not her fault! This was my idea!" Jowan interjected.

"She is here under my orders, Greagoir. I take full responsibility for her actions."

"Wait… you… you led us into a trap?" Jowan stared at me in horror and disgust.

"I had no choice, Jowan! I didn't want to see you give the Templars a reason to simply kill you! And Irving has always been like a father to me. I couldn't betray his trust…"

"Don't you dare speak to me!"

"Enough! As Knight-Commander of the Templars here assembled, I sentence this blood mage to death. And this initiate has scorned the Chantry and her vows. Take her to Aeonar."

"The… the mages' prison. No… please, no. Not there!" Lily backed up in fear, as if she could escape.

"No! I won't let you touch her!"

And then he did it. The person I considered to be my best friend in the whole of Thedas pulled out a knife and drew his own blood, knocking out all that were surrounding us.

I stood there for a moment in shock. Did that really just happen? The bodies on the ground confirmed it. "Irving!" I broke from my stupor and ran to his side to check on him; to make sure that he was still alive. He was.

"By the Maker... blood magic! H-how could you? You said you never..." Lily slowly backed away from Jowan. I don't know if this was a bigger surprise to me or her.

"I admit, I... I dabbled! I thought it would make me a better mage!" Jowan tried to explain himself. He looked just as scared as Lily, though I'm sure his fear was stemming from her response to his actions.

"Blood magic is evil, Jowan. It corrupts people... changes them..."

"I'm going to give it up. All magic. I just want to be with you, Lily. Please..."

"I trusted you. I was ready to sacrifice everything for you... I... I don't know who you are, blood mage. Stay away from me..." she backed into the corner and tried to hide from him. His pleading wouldn't work. He rounded on me, but I wasn't going to cower before him.

"How could you do this, Jowan? You promised me that you weren't a blood mage! You betrayed me!"

"How is it any different than what you did to me? This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't run to Irving!" After all this time, he picks now to stand up for himself? Maybe if he would have shown some of this conviction _before_ they would have actually put him through the Harrowing.

"I did it out of love! For you _and _Irving! I wanted to protect you! Now, you have put us all in danger!"

"I did what I had to, Sora. I was just trying to protect the person _I_ loved too. Thanks to you, she now wants nothing to do with me!" _My_ actions were so unforgivable? I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself to justify it, it still doesn't change what you've become!"

He looked like he was going to continue with his rant, but he sighed and hung his head. "So what happens now?"

What _was_ going to happen? Jowan had branded himself a danger to everyone around him. If he stayed, he would surely be killed. Did he deserve that? In some ways, yes. Blood mages were too dangerous to others, as he had clearly demonstrated. But as he said, he did it to protect Lily. I could relate to that. It was the same thing I had just done.

"I should kill you where you stand, Jowan. But you're right. And believe it or not, I truly _was_ your friend. So just go. Leave now and pray to the Maker that they _never_ bring you back." Tears flowed freely down my cheeks at the thought of losing him. There was no going back though.

He stood there for a couple of seconds just blinking at me, as if he didn't fully comprehend what I had said. Finally, he turned and ran from the room.

I pulled a health potion out of my pack to give to Irving, when I heard a small voice speak up.

"Can I go too?"

Oh Maker, I had completely forgotten that Evian was present. It was my turn to stare in disbelief. Had she really just stood there for that entire exchange, saying nothing?

If she stayed, she would be in trouble; possibly made Tranquil. Where could she go? What would she do? If she left, it was going to take an act of the Maker himself to keep the girl alive.

I quickly wiped the tears from my face. "Are you sure about that, Evian? Do you have the slightest idea what it is like for us out there?"

"I just don't want to stay here anymore, Sora. I've actually wanted to leave for a very long time."

That would explain the search for the secret tunnels. "Then why are you asking me? You can make your own decisions."

Something in her face changed then. "You're right," she nodded, obviously determined. She started to walk away, but stopped and turned around. She cast a healing spell on the men lying on the ground, and then ran as they began to awaken. Even during escape, she still put her talent to use. Anyone else would have left them lie.

Irving and the others started to stir before me. "The blood mage is gone!" one of the Templars shouted to Greagoir.

"I can see that. So is the elf," he swayed on his feet as he stood. He pointed to Lily, "Take her and the mage to the dungeon."

"What? Greagoir, I told you, Sora was here because of me!" Irving finally regained his senses as well.

"And two of your other mages escaped! Someone needs to be punished for what happened here! Was that not your goal?"

Irving hung his head. After what I had done for him, he wasn't even going to put up a fight for me? "No! Irving, you promised!" I screamed as two Templars grabbed me and drained my mana. It was useless to struggle against them without it.

"I am sorry, Sora. There's nothing I can do now," Irving simply watched as they dragged me away.

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><p>Bloody dungeon. This was the first time I had ever even seen it. I paced back and forth in my cell. They had stuck Lily in the room right next to me. The only sound I could hear was her sobbing and it was driving me crazy. If it kept up, <em>I<em> would have resorted to blood magic as well.

I leaned against the back wall and sunk down to the floor. The dark, disgusting wall and floor. There's no way of knowing what I had just sat in.

This is what I got for being honest? I should have run away too. At least if I was caught for _that_ they would have an actual _reason_ to punish me. I thought the Tower was the prison. I didn't know it could get worse.

I hung my head and tried to think of anything I could say or do to get out of this mess. I started clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth, like I always do when I'm deep in thought, and heard it echoing against the stone walls of the dungeon. That sound was joined by another though; an ominous sound to someone locked in a cage. The booted footfalls of a group of Templars.

As they came into view, I saw that Irving was with them. Surrounded by three Templars, this obviously wasn't going to be an apology.

"Stand up, Sora," he ordered as he came to a stop in front of my cell.

I reluctantly did as he said. "Here to make me tranquil, Irving? Maybe you'd just like to sentence me to death and get it over with?"

He looked genuinely ashamed at my words. Good. This _was_ his fault, after all.

"I have argued with Greagoir all that I can. He believes that you need to take some of the responsibility, and there is no convincing him otherwise. All that I was able to do was lessen your punishment as best as I can. In fact, you might not even see it as a punishment." This was a poor attempt at reconciliation.

"How comforting. Tell me, what delightful activity have you planned for me this time?"

"Sora Amell, you're going to Ostagar."


	2. Chapter 2 Prepare for War

_I know that it has been far too long and will understand if everyone has lost interest in this! I'm going to try to get back to writing regularly! I've actually had this update done for a while but never posted it for some reason. Sorry it is short!_

_Thanks to my reviewers: RewindedMiracle, jugalettePENNER, auradorina, and Shakespira. Sorry this took me longer than I had promised! I kind of lost all motivation for everything for a while there. Again. I'm trying though!_

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><p>I stepped out the front doors of the tower and practically hyperventilated. Fifteen years I had been living here; I was seven when I was captured. It was all that I knew and now I was forced to leave. What was the world outside going to be like? And the people? Never mind that, what was Ostagar going to be like?<p>

"Into the boats!" one of the Templars shouted. Boats? Boats would make sense considering the Tower is surrounded by water. How did Jowan mange to get away? How did Evian? I doubt either of them knew how to swim. I don't know how to swim. If I fell out of the boat and drowned before I even really left, would it be sad or just ironic? Maybe there wouldn't be room for me and they would have to leave me behind. Yes, that would be for the-

"Amell! Now!" Of course.

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><p>As if boats weren't bad enough, they put us on horses for the rest of the trip. I only fell off the first three times I tried to get mine to move. I had never <em>seen<em> a real-live horse before, let alone rode one. She was a beautiful dark brown mare with just a sliver of white on her face and less patience than a Templar. She was gorgeous to look at, but completely frightening all the same. But it seemed to be a mutual feeling among all of the mages that had never left the Tower, so at least I wasn't alone in my terror.

The group rode the first few hours in silence. I mean _complete_ silence. The presence of Templars always tends to make things awkward. But it probably didn't help that everyone thought I was going to turn into an abomination or something at any moment. I drifted as far to the back of the pack as I could get.

The sun was starting to set on our first day when my _favorite_ Senior Enchanter decided to drop back and ride next to me.

"It's been a while, Sora," she greeted me without taking her eyes off of the path in front of her.

"What do you want, Wynne?" I was already irritable from riding on the sodding horse all day. I really didn't want to deal with a _bronto_ as well.

"Can we not be amiable, child?"

"I don't know. Does it matter?"

"No, I guess it doesn't. I… we all heard what happened. For what it's worth, I'm sorry Irving wasn't able to help you," she finally looked at me.

Please! "Well, I'm sure you are. If Irving hadn't bent over for Greagoir and broken his promise, you wouldn't have to feel so bad about abandoning me yourself, now would you?"

"Of course, Sora. I'm so glad to see that you're attitude has improved over these last two years." Whose fault is that? "Tell me, did you learn anything from this experience?"

"Oh yes, Wynne. I have learned the most important lesson of my life." She shook her head for me to continue, obviously expecting another snide comment. I never said she wasn't intelligent.

"It's simple, really. I am alone in the world. Always have been, and always will be. I can't trust _anyone_ except for myself. Not friends. Not so called 'family'. And surely not you."

She simply looked at me for a moment, and then urged her horse forward to rejoin the rest of the group.

No one else said a word to me for the remainder of the four-day trip.

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><p>We rode into view of the ruins and what little conversation that there was amongst the group stopped. It was amazing to think that they were still standing from before the First Blight; when the Tevinter Imperium stretched all the way across Ferelden. Though it was saddening to know that the only reason there was life within these walls once again was because another Blight was upon us.<p>

The Fifth Blight, according to the rumor.

There were a lot of rumors swirling around what we were actually doing there. I think the most ridiculous was that the Chasind were invading. But since no Archdemon had been spotted, there was no way of knowing for sure.

We rode across the bridge and into the camp. We didn't go very far though before we were directed to set up our own tents out of the way of most of the traffic.

I shouldn't say we set up our _own_ tents. Again, since most of us hadn't been out of the Tower before, we had no idea how. We basically stood and watched as the Templars did it for us. With a grunt and a point, I was directed to the tent I would be using.

The _kind_ Templars had even set up bedrolls for us. I'm glad someone thought of that. Otherwise, I'd be sleeping on the ground.

If I slept at all.

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><p>"I have spoken with Teyrn Loghain about the plans for the upcoming battle," Uldred was apparently in charge here and he was addressing the group. "The King's army is still gathering and many nobles and their forces have not even arrived yet. For now, everyone is required to stay within the campsite under Templar supervision."<p>

What a surprise. Of course there was no way we would be allowed to have a look around while we were waiting to head to our deaths.

I turned to head back to my tent when I heard someone approach. "Sora, could you please walk with me?" It was Uldred himself. Now what did I do?

I nodded and began to follow the bald man as he lead me out of the mages' area and deeper into the camp. "Didn't you just say-"

"I have a special task for you, my dear. One that will get you away from what is surely an uncomfortable situation with your peers."

"Really?" I didn't care what it was. I would accept anything that got me away from Wynne and the others.

"The King is sending a party out into the Wilds to scout for darkspawn. They requested the presence of a mage, and I immediately thought of you." Maybe I _wouldn't_ accept anything. The look on my face said as much. "They assured me that there was no real danger. They don't plan to engage the darkspawn, only see where they are amassing."

No _real_ danger meant that there would _definitely_ be danger, but it was _definitely_ worth it if it got me out of here. "And won't the Templars throw a fit because I pose such a 'risk'?"

"You are also the most talented mage we have when it comes to offensive spells. I will gladly remind them that you are helping to protect us all."

"You know, Uldred, it almost seems as if you are doing me a favor."

He smiled. There was a first time for everything. "I liked Jowan. He and I were friends much like the two of you were. I was… glad to see that he escaped the Rite of Tranquility."

That… didn't seem like it should be the opinion of a Senior Enchanter. I wasn't going to question him though. "So what do I do?"

We came to a stop near the two largest tents in the ruins; tents that belonged to the king and his brother. Uldred pointed to a pair of men standing near the less ornate of the two. "Go introduce yourself to those men. Tell them you are looking for Fergus Cousland."


End file.
